NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

Angel06 Posted: Sep 20, 2009 09:45 PM

NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

How does everyone work out who pays for what when it come to living expenses? We are not living together now and I’m not sure how to figure out our bills. I was thinking everything should be 50-50 but there is a part of me that isn’t sure if that is silly. I’m stressing myself out with how to do our bills. We would be renting and trying to save for a house. A lot of the bills will be in my name since FH works off the book which makes be nervous that eventually so will a mortgage. Please help, I’m looking for your advice and experiences. Thank girls!

marinai7 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 08:21 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

If you both make the same salary, then 50/50 makes sense. If not, then maybe you can adjust it. I'm not sure what to answer on this, it really depends on the couple - what you both make, what you both have to pay for other than bills, etc.

stinenandy2010 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 08:32 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

We have one checking and one savings account. So all of our monthly salary goes into checking. I immediately pay all the bills to know what we have left for savings and everyday expenses.

Before we had one bank account, we each put in a certain amount for bills in a checking account. We both put in the same amount but we also make almost the same.

My suggestion would be to make up an excel spreadsheet. Write down all common bills like rent, utilities, cell phone, car payments, insurance, etc. Then spilt that by half and that is what each of your owe for the month.

julesrbf Posted: Sep 21, 2009 08:35 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

FH and I have lived together for over a year. He makes about 2x more than I do. Therefore, roughly speaking, I pay a quarter of our combined bills because it's 'fair.' To be honest I always feel badly about how comparitively little I pay, but FH reminds me that since he makes more it makes sense for him to contribute more, which I agree with. I give him x amount of dollars every week and he pays all of our bills.

Angel06 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 09:04 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

Posted by marinai7

If you both make the same salary, then 50/50 makes sense. If not, then maybe you can adjust it.

Good point, we dont make the same money, i make double and i handle money better so im trying to see all the ways people do there bills. Then decide what i think will work best for us.

Angel06 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 09:14 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

Posted by stinenandy2010

We have one checking and one savings account. So all of our monthly salary goes into checking. I immediately pay all the bills to know what we have left for savings and everyday expenses.

QUOTE]

Since FH doesnt get checks it s***k it's cash so it never the same amount, and we can not do direct deposit which is what i already do with my checks to our wedding fund account. I always feel bad asking him to put his amount in our wedding fund account, cause he is so slow about it and i feel like i have to ask a bunch of time and if i dont then he forgets. I did do an excel spread sheet of what my bills are so i know what i can really afford and i have been asking him to do forever and he hasnt so i stopped pushing the issue.

mag2010 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 09:21 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

We split the bills for the house 50/50. FH give me a check every month and I pay all the bills from my account.

FutureJOC Posted: Sep 21, 2009 11:22 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

we pretty much go 50-50 on everything.

FI does make more money than I do, so he might thrown in a little more for the food than I do.

We opened up a joint checking acct. when we first moved in together and when I get paid direct deposit from work I have it automatically transfer out of each paycheck into the joint account for the monthly bills.

It's smart though to also keep your own personal checking and savings acct. This would be for your own shopping and emergency fund.

DaniandKen2010 Posted: Sep 21, 2009 11:35 AM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

We share a savings and a checking so all our money goes into checking...then I pay the bills and then we put money into savings.

QueenPeach Posted: Sep 21, 2009 12:35 PM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

I've read alot of financial advice columns/books/etc where they recommend that if you decide to keep seperate accounts, you should open one joint account used to pay the bills. Each person would contribute a percentage of their income so the cost of living is equally divided. ie you make 6,000 per month and he makes 10,000. If you each contributed 50%, you'd give 3,000 and he'd give 5,000 to total 8,000. 'Experts' says it's supposed to be a good way of never becoming resentful...

If you did it as a flat equal amount and you each instead paid 4,000 per month, then you'd be left with a lot less money than him.

I will be testing this method out soon!

halfbaked Posted: Sep 21, 2009 12:45 PM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

Posted by FutureJOC

we pretty much go 50-50 on everything.

FI does make more money than I do, so he might thrown in a little more for the food than I do.

We opened up a joint checking acct. when we first moved in together and when I get paid direct deposit from work I have it automatically transfer out of each paycheck into the joint account for the monthly bills.

It's smart though to also keep your own personal checking and savings acct. This would be for your own shopping and emergency fund.

FH makes a little more than I do so if we ever order food he pays or he pays a little more for grocery shopping. Other than that, we're 50/50 and it doesn't seem silly to me at all!

cateydee Posted: Sep 21, 2009 12:56 PM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

i definitely recommend reading suze orman's books. i have one of her books that FH and i read when we moved in together. she said that paying the bills should be in relation to what you earn. she also said to have 1 personal checking account and 1 joint account. thank god for her book, cuz we wouildnt have been able to figure it out on our own. (i cant remember the name, but FM and i can check tonight if you want)

jcreilly Posted: Sep 21, 2009 01:09 PM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

we will have all our money in one bank

regy_k Posted: Sep 21, 2009 01:10 PM

Re: NWR: Cohabitating & Managing bills-help need advice

Posted by Angel06

Posted by marinai7

If you both make the same salary, then 50/50 makes sense. If not, then maybe you can adjust it.

Good point, we dont make the same money, i make double and i handle money better so im trying to see all the ways people do there bills. Then decide what i think will work best for us.

I make more than my FH too. so now we have just a combined checking acct which I monitor and pay the bills from, as I am much smarter and better w/money than him.
so everything is communal.

until we did this we had separate accnts and did 50-50 and I paid more for groceries as I make more. my logic was that we use everything the same so we should participate together in everything.
there were couple things he paid for and others I paid for cause they were in each of ours names. ex: I paid cable/phone/internet he paid electricity/gas. it made it easy, instead of giving each other half of that bill we just paid in full w/o participating in the other.
worked for us.